Destiny Has "Nearly" 30 Million Registered Players, April Update "Re-Engaged" Community

Activision Blizzard today reported earnings for the quarter ended March 31, providing some new insight into how well things are going for the big-time publisher from a business perspective. There were no major product announcements, though the company did reveal that Destiny now has "nearly" 30 million registered players, which is up 5 million from the 25 million figure reported in November 2015.

Destiny hasn't necessarily sold 30 million copies, however, as this figure would conceivably also include people who play a secondhand copy. Looking ahead, Bungie will release a "large" new expansion this fall, while a sequel is coming in 2017.

No announcements were made about World of Warcraft subscribers, which is to be expected, given that Activision Blizzard no longer shares those numbers. Historically, World of Warcraft subscriber numbers dip in between expansion releases. The next add-on, Legion, comes out in August.

During an earnings call, Activision management shed some further light on Destiny. The company said the 30 million Destiny players are averaging about about >100 hours of play time each.

Additionally, Activision Publishing executive Eric Hirshberg said Destiny's April update "re-engaged" the Destiny community and was very well received. Overall, engagement is "remarkably strong even after the release of some competitive games in the genre," he said. He also mentioned that, "It's clear fans are hungry for more content than we have been able to create."

"That passion and loyalty from our fans is something that we don't take for granted," he added. "Which is why we're working side by side with Bungie to make sure that in the future, we're able to deliver a more consistent stream of great content and drive even more engagement."

In terms of financials, Activision Blizzard net revenue for the three-month period was $908 million, which is the most the company has ever made during this quarter. During the same period last year, Activision Blizzard pulled in $703 million in revenue. Net revenue from digital channels also reached a quarterly record this period, coming in at $926 million, up 59 percent compared to the same quarter last year.

Digitally delivered net revenue made up an all-time quarterly high of $797 million, which was up 48 percent compared to the same period last year. It also made up a record 88 percent of overall Activision Blizzard revenue.

It wasn't all good news for Activision Blizzard, however, as profit fell. For the quarter, the company posted net income of $336 million, down from $394 million during the same quarter last year.

Another thing to note is that Activision Blizzard recently acquired Candy Crush developer King, helping boost the company's overall earnings numbers.

Activision Blizzard will hold an earnings call to discuss these results and answer questions starting at 1:30 PM PST. Check back later for more.